The No. 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron RAAF (382ECSS) was a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

established in 1998, and based at the

RAAF Base Amberley RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and southwest of Brisbane CBD. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), N ...

, southwest of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

.RAAF Base Amberley
Australian Parliament House, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs,Defence and Trade, Northern Tour, p.15 It is a fully deployable unit which provides operational support to a

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward Operational level of war, operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfi ...

. Although its usual role was to supplement base services at

, it had the capability to deploy to bare base and provide all the services to make it a fully operational base. In 1999, the 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron spent three months with Peacekeeping forces in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

. The squadron repaired the Cakung airfield, the only airfield in East Timor capable of taking

wide-body aircraft A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...

, which was vandalised when the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

left East Timor. Once the 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron repaired the airfield, it was used as entry point for Interfet and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

personnel and assistance. In 2003, the Australian Defence Force commenced a $1 billion upgrade of its fleet of trucks, trailers and motorbikes, and the 382 Expeditionary Combat Squadron was chosen to receive the initial roll-out of the replacement fleet. The new vehicles included trailers used for transporting personnel and supplies, evacuating casualties, and communication systems. The 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron helped with cleanup efforts in

The Gap The Gap may refer to: Places Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland ...

in Queensland after

16 November Events Pre-1600 * 951 – Emperor Li Jing sends a Southern Tang expeditionary force of 10,000 men under Bian Hao to conquer Chu. Li Jing removes the ruling family to his own capital in Nanjing, ending the Chu Kingdom. *1272 – Whil ...

, 2008, storms wreaked havoc on the area. In 2007 they spent 39 weeks in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. On 1 July 2010 changes to the structure of the Combat Support Group resulted in the functions of 382ECSS being integrated with No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron at

RAAF Amberley RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and southwest of Brisbane CBD. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), N ...

and 382ECSS being expanded to provide all support elements require by 23 SQN.

References

382 Year 382 ( CCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Syagrius (or, less frequently, year 1135 ''Ab urb ...

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